"There’s nothing better than putting your feet up on a Louis XVI foot-stool, sipping Moet in front of their new Rembrandt while Kei$ha dances the floor show..."
A flapping wing… The Village People have just toured Australia. Hot Chocolate have shows coming up this Friday at Canterbury RSL.
You look confused…
If you’re staring blankly at the mention of The Village People & Hot Chocolate; think 70’s funk, think disco, think construction worker uniforms, impossibly tight pants and fit-inducing neon lights. If you’ve ever been to a wedding, twenty-first or an RSL on a Saturday night then you’ve heard the Y.M.C.A. or You Sexy Thing, you probably just blocked the memory.
The guys aren’t looking too bad for bands whose last hits were thirty years ago. I checked out officialvillagepeople.com and with the exception of ‘Eric’, who looks like Sacha Baron Cohen in witness protection, the guys are rockin’ the politically incorrect costumes. Personally I can’t imagine sitting through a whole show though.
There’s a lot of vintage gold being polished off of late; Kim Wilde and Nik Kershaw have shows coming up reviving the eighties. The Breeders are bringing back the 90’s, touring their seminal album ‘Last Splash’ at the end of October. The ‘album’ concept show has become a mainstay of touring artists who don’t have a new release. Whether you fork out your hard-earned or not, I suspect becomes a matter of nostalgia and taste (or lack thereof).
International tours are everywhere and increasingly frequent. Fighting for our bucks are Bieber, Beyonce, One Direction, the Wiggles! I think Bruce Springsteen has toured more often recently than he ever made it in the eighties.
All of this is possible because of a relatively robust Aussie dollar, which is in turn part of the legacy of American financial turmoil over the last five years. As the world’s financial systems gradually unravelled, Australia just toddled along through two decades of uninterrupted growth.
The result: our dollar buys a lot worldwide.
For a lot of us this has meant holidays, lots of holidays. But it’s not just Australia that’s heading out into the world; the world is also coming to us. International bands, the Great Masters of European painting and cheap Champagne have all been landing on our doorstep in increasing numbers over the last few years.
This has to be a good thing right?!
There’s nothing better than putting your feet up on a Louis XVI foot-stool, sipping Moet in front of their new Rembrandt while Kei$ha dances the floor show. But if we’re dropping all our coin on cheap imports, what’s left for local produce?
A minor tremor...
There’s a lingering theory that pervades a lot of sport-oriented debates about the benefit of a ‘marquee’ player. This is international star whose mere presence lifts the overall standard of the local competition. Is it possible that a plethora of international stars hitting our stages might influence the musical stylings and performance of local acts?
Access seems to be the issue here. Spotify (for the good), Torrents (for the naughty) have made a variety of music available to all and sundry. Local acts have exposure to the entire world without leaving their bedrooms, and as Bart Denaro discussed last week, all that exposure to music ain’t necessarily a good thing. (fbiradio.com/feature-desperately-seeking-music)
F.O.M.O.
The relative scarcity of international touring artists over the decades creates a mythos around the concert event; think Nirvana at the ‘92 BDO or Jeff Buckley at the Phoenician Club in ‘95. These shows build up in the suburban subconscious becoming cultural compass points, with more ‘attendees’ than ever made the gig. Everyone who wasn’t there wishes they were, and no-one wants to miss the next one. But as we scramble to secure our personal cultural cachet, whilst simultaneously assuaging our manic F.O.M.O-itis there is a lot going on locally that slides under our radar.
With (relative) retro heavyweights like Hot Chocolate hitting the RSL circuit, a potential venue for Aussie artists is lost. Sydney is blessed with multiple venues supporting local bands, but there are always more playing house parties or occupying off-the-grid venues because they can’t get a slot anywhere else.
Less clout, less bucks (cos a strong Aussie dollar doesn’t buy more at home) and less influence puts the local act behind the proverbial eight-ball...
It’s Dirty Underground
A cultural tsunami… All this competition puts bands in a position where they must refine their sound, their live show and their image, then work hard to get noticed. As they fight for attention from bands cutting prime-time TV commercials they know they must offer something to the punters to grab fans. Not having the major label music machine behind them ultimately offers these bands the opportunity to grow on their own.
Once a month on a Monday local bands diligently rock up at the FBi studios to attend our music open-day. They’ve got the sounds; CDs and bios clutched in their hands, they’re now looking for the edge that will help them make it. Relative obscurity means bands have to work. They practice play small shows and shitty venues and do their own artwork. They also create something personal and reflective of themselves, not just what tests well in the market.
So maybe our strong Aussie dollar is a mixed blessing. When a politicians talks deficit and recession, or strong quarterly growth it doesn’t instantly translate into tunes in most peoples minds. It does however influence the variety and available of the sounds that become available and the ease with which you access them. Whether in times of boom or bust chances are people will keep doing a few things; mostly drinking and fucking… then making music about it.
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